Scuba Diving & Snorkelling

New Zealand’s coastal waters offer some of the best scuba diving and snorkelling in the world. The New Zealand Information Network has compiled this summary of the top diving and snorkelling locations to assist visitors with their holiday plans.

New Zealand’s coastal waters offer some of the best scuba diving and snorkelling in the world. The New Zealand Information Network has compiled this summary of the top diving and snorkelling locations to assist visitors with their holiday plans.

Just a one hour trip by passenger ferry from Bluff is Stewart Island, which has one of the richest and most varied marine habitats in New Zealand. There is a multitude of fish in the dense, swaying jungles of giant kelp around the entire windswept coast.

The overpowering rugged beauty of the Fiordland World Heritage Area is not confined to the mountains, lakes and rivers. This special place is also the exciting new frontier of scuba diving in New Zealand.

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island and the gateway to a wide range of outdoor experiences throughout Canterbury. The ‘Garden City’ has a fine English heritage, with beautiful park-like gardens and punting on the Avon River.

The glorious beaches and glistening waters of the Marlborough Sounds are made for boating and diving. Combine this with a warm, sunny climate and you have one of the best recreation and holiday areas in the country.

New Zealand’s capital city is surrounded by the turbulent waters of Cook Strait and boasts many natural marine wonders around its three coastlines. The opportunities for shore diving and snorkelling are legion and the powerful Cook Strait currents ensure a plentiful supply of marine life.

The rugged, exposed Taranaki coastline extends for 250 kms around the semi-circular bulge in the west coast of the North Island. From Mokau in the north to Waitotara in the south, a succession of black iron sand beaches invites exploration by divers.

Follow the Pacific Coast Highway around the Bay of Plenty and you reach the least visited, ‘undiscovered’ part of the North Island. This is an outdoor paradise of rocky headlands interspersed with scores of golden sand beaches. It is the first place in the world to see the dawn of each new day.

New Zealand’s most active volcano lies 50 km offshore from Whakatane where it continuously lets off steam and releases clouds of ash. The volcano sits on the continental shelf where the White Island Trench runs parallel to the huge abyss of the Kermadec Trench.

The warm Pacific Ocean laps a continuous stretch of long, sandy beaches from Tauranga to Whakatane, and intimate rocky coves extend from there to East Cape. Marine life is abundant and there is accessible diving and snorkelling for everyone in water temperatures that range from 22°C in summer to 12°C in winter.

Less than two hours drive east of Auckland the Coromandel Range thrusts out into the Pacific Ocean. This bush clad scenic finger of land is one of New Zealand’s most popular holiday spots because of its unspoiled coastline, pristine beaches, idyllic offshore islands and rich reefs.

The Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park is a magical playground of 50 islands and countless reef structures right on Auckland’s doorstep. Many of the islands are recreation reserves popular with day-trippers and others are conservation sanctuaries for endangered bird species.

This magnificent bay of 50 islands and innumerable reefs is home to a multitude of marine life including common and bottlenose dolphins, stingrays, manta rays, octopus, moray eels and many fish species.

The southern ocean has many surprises for the adventurous diver who is prepared to brave the cooler temperatures. Otago’s coastline is home to fascinating marine creatures - sea lions, seals, penguins and migratory birds.